Reimagining Teachers

GM, Ford, and Chrysler are dinosaurs. And the asteroid's coming. But whereas the dinosaur probably didn't see the end coming, Detroit probably has. The writing's been on the wall. Yet they clung to costly business practices, balked at alternative energy, and banked on vehicles that consumers couldn't afford as the price of crude soared from $16 to $147 a barrel in less than 10 years. Still, Detroit refused to change, refused to adapt to the changing global economy, and consequently, gave up their marketshare to other countries. And now they're roadside, in the middle of nowhere, hazard lights on, waiting for AAA.

So what can educators learn from Detroit? The writing's on the wall for us too. But are we reading?

Public education was shaped by the 19th century factory model. As educator David Warlick says, this model is about working in neat rows, performing repetitive tasks, under close supervision. There are still traces of this model in many of today's classrooms as well. Now toss in an instructional model that's teacher driven. Mix in today's digitally enhanced children. And Warlick says, you've created an odd classroom recipe: 21st century children, exposed to 20th century teaching practices, in 19th century classrooms.

Is this how we are preparing today's children for the 21st century? Is this the best we can offer?

Three years ago, a Colorado high school presented its teachers with a slideshow that focused on 21st century challenges and the responsibilities all educators have to help our students meet these challenges. This presentation has become known as Shift Happens. The video has over two million hits on YouTube. And all around the world, it has started an important conversation. The video references a rapidly changing world and impresses upon its viewers to consider how to adapt, so as not to leave our children behind.

The original PowerPoint presentation was enhanced for the video to include simple animations that refer to the following thoughts and more about our changing world:

• How many 2006 college graduates in India speak English?: 100%
• In ten years, it is predicted that the country with the most English speakers will be: China
• According to US Labor stats, today's average learners will have 10-14 jobs by their 38th birthday
• More than 50% of today's 21 year olds have created content for the web
• More than 70% of 4 year olds in the US have used a computer
• In the US, one of eight couples married in 2005, met online
• Each month, 2.7 billion Google searches are conducted. To whom were these questions addressed before Google?

Once upon a time, we all imagined a future world where access to technology was seamless and prevalent in most daily routines. We saw it on TV, in movies, and at Disney World. But the wait is over because we're there. The future is now. And this is the only world our children know. It's time to reimagine the roles of teachers and redefine our responsibilities to help our children meet the challenges of the new millenium.